Ekleipsis (Fantasy Romance - LGBT, manXman)

7.3.

"Here, look." Ithildin spread the map out on the floor.

Kintaro knew this concentrated expression, it stood for, "For once, I know what to do." Seemed like the elfkin had really dug up something good, or else he had gotten up early and spent three hours in the market for nothing. The chief sat on his heels, Alva lay on the floor, and they both peered curiously at the map.

"Right here," the elf traced a finger along a curve of the blue ribbon, "flows the river Bharaputra. The loaded traders' barges sail downriver and row upriver, almost all the way to the source. Nishapur, where you can board a barge, with horses and all, is only a day's journey from here. One more day on a barge, and we get to Ichor, and Ichor is..." Ithildin's finger traced a short segment, "...a stone's throw from Ujjay. There is no road, but we can tell direction by the sun. We'd be saving ourselves a day's journey, and it would be a far more pleasant trip, not to mention a cheaper one."

Kintaro looked askance at the elf, but said nothing. It did seem like a good plan. A day's journey was a day's journey, and so what that doll-face was so obsessed with cutting down on their time in the jungle. Besides, he, Kintaro, had never traveled by water before (except, maybe a couple of times in Trianess, on a lover's yacht) and that made Ithildin's suggestion even more appealing. Chevalier Ahayrre made a bit of a fuss, just for show, but the advantages of the new plan were obvious.

So, the next day, the threesome had already reached Nishapur. They had only taken with them two small Jinnjarati horses used to carrying heavy loads. There was no point to even attempting the jungle on horseback.

Near the Nishapur, the river Bharaputra was more than half a mile wide. Its water flowed so calmly it would have appeared still if not for the multitudes of big and small boats, rafts and canoes bustling about. The silt stirred up from the bottom made the water milky-white. It was odd that fish could live in the water so dirty, but it clearly did, judging by the fat carps sold everywhere in Nishapur. The enterprising traders even sold quantities of silt from the river to be used as a fertilizer in the North. As for black and rich soil of Jinnjarat, it needed no fertilizers to yield crops three or four times a year.

Compared to the elegant Creedan ships, the Jinnjarati barges looked awkward and chunky, whales to the lithe dolphins. But the barges could have up to a hundred oarsmen and hold an incredible quantity of goods. They were used for shipping cattle, grain, coal, ore, giant marble blocks from quarries and even exotic animals to foreign zoos. But not every barge went as far as Ichor; most of them had too deep a draught for smaller waterways. In fact, at the time, there was only one boat of twenty oars available – the Mithu. Its captain, a tiny Jinnjarati man with gleaming white teeth, spoke the Common Tongue fluently. Cutting a deal with him was easy.

The Mithu did not have cabins, and the crew slept right on the deck. There was an area partitioned off for horses, and the three passengers bedded down in the stern of the ship, in a small fenced corner. Not that anyone of them would have preferred a cabin. The barge, spreading its fan of an orange sail, floated slowly down the still river past the picturesque jungle. There was an astonishing explosion of colors and scents all around. Although, the dominant flavor was that of cinnamon and other exotic spices that had permeated the barge over its many voyages.

In places, the trees rose straight from the water to hang over the ship. Tiny swift monkeys scampered in the branches. Elsewhere, the entire stretch of the river, shore to shore, would be covered in waxy water lily leaves. These looked like dishes, with their upward-curving edges. The Mithu cut through them, but the plants closed in its wake.

Kintaro suddenly hung upside down, legs hooked over the side of the ship, and pulled out a water lily on a long stem. Which he casually tucked behind Alva's ear, in the Jinnjarati fashion. Alva was bemused, and did not know either to scold or to thank him. In the end he settled for laughing and unbridled kissing. He looked drop-dead gorgeous, that white lily in his hair.

At night, the rain came down, but it was still dry under the palm leaves' roof that shielded the three of them when they lay close together. They made love, softly and quietly, in the splash of the rain and the prattling of the current. Alva picked up the petals of the ravaged lily and sifted them through his fingers, like sand.

"This night will never happen again," he whispered, and it made all three strangely sad.

Near Ichor the river Bharaputra split into two channels. The right was too shallow for all but the smallest barges, like the Mithu. They were soon near the rotted wooden docks; the crew threw a gangplank from the ship, and the travelers and their horses crossed comfortably over to dry land. The captain promised to pick them up on his way back in a week or so. The barge sailed off and was soon lost to view. The three were left alone now in the shade of the forest.

Kintaro spoke up first, "Doesn't look as if anyone lives here."

Unfortunately, he appeared correct. Ichor, the small village of resin-gatherers, seemed long deserted. Roofless tumble-down houses were nearly overgrown. Only the birdsong broke the quiet.

"Nah, don't like this any," the Essanti grumbled. He moved his atarink's hilt closer to his shoulder.

They walked through the ruined village, but found no trace of inhabitants. Obviously the place had been abandoned for at least a year. Alva suggested that they might have simply run through all the resin, and Kintaro's suspicions were allayed. There did not seem to be any wild animals in the surrounding growth, it's been two days past the full moon, and it seemed all right to let the guard down. Ithildin did insist on keeping watch the entire night, but it hardly mattered since he barely slept anyway. They spent the night in the only house that still retained bits of the roof, and started off at sunrise.

The virgin jungle of Jinnjarat deserved to be one of the wonders of the world. Being beneath its lofty canopy made you feel is if you were in the Nature's own temple. Vine-covered colossal tree trunks rose like pillars. The multicolored faintly glowing moss was springy underneath, and the vine and brush leaves touched their wide green palms to your shoulders in a friendly greeting. The jungle was filled with unceasing noise: the whispering of raindrops rolling over leaves, monkeys chattering, cries of birds, jungle dwellers scampering through the undergrowth. Chevalier Ahayrre, always sensitive to beauty, did not know where to look, and even Ithildin, who grew up in a forest, looked smitten. There was plenty to see! Flowers of the brightest hue sprung all over, fantasies of the maddest of artists. Amid the trees, flitted the butterflies that looked like birds, and birds that looked like winged lizards. They were not wary of people at all; one more proof that Ichor had been depopulated long since.

They kept west, and, at sunset, had reached a hill. A good ten columns of smoke rose into the sky, so they were certain they had come to the Ujjai village they had been seeking. The jungle had lightened, and they could make out a semblance of a road with faint cart tracks. There were more traces of man as they went along: cuts in the tree bark, tree stumps. At the road bend, they saw another of the Jinnjarati idols: a roughly hewn stone creature that would have resembled a man, if not for a snarling fanged mouth and cat's ears.

Beyond the jungle stretched the fields. Here, the jungle had been cleared with fire and axe, to make room for the sweet potato plantations. Beyond them there was the village of huts with their roofs or reed and palm leaves. It was quiet, peaceful and most bucolic. A dog sleeping by the fence opened one eye, lazily followed the travelers' progress, yapped a couple of times for appearances' sake, and dropped its muzzle back on its paws again. The three men passed through the carved gates in the village fence, horses in tow.